Frog - what's up with Rune Swords?

[GrimaTheBold]

I find these from time to time but have never used one. I understand they start off very weak and gain power over time but I'm not sure on the mechanics of it. What character would benefit from wielding one, and are they end game weapons? Since I think they start out very weak, does that mean they are typically used by dual-wielders so that they have a strong weapon in their other hand?

And a general question on builds - I love playing melee characters who have magic for buffs/healing (but more to the magic side than Paladins). Is Warrior-Mage with Arcane/Life or Arcane/Craft a strong build or does this class need damage dealing realms like Death or Armageddon to succeed? And which is stronger at this concept (melee with magic buffs/healing), Priest or Warrior-Mage?

I exclusively play Coffee-Break if that makes a difference.

[Sideways]

Rune swords can eventually become pretty strong, but there are other strong weapons, and even at their best rune swords are very much a mixed blessing. A rune sword's more something you use because you want to say you did than something that makes actual sense.

It is possible to use dual-wield setups to support a rune sword; but since rune swords only gain power when they score the kill themselves, that would make progress significantly slower. Especially in coffee-break, where you have fewer kills to play with, you should probably single-wield to make sure that every kill is credited to the sword. (I don't think rune sword progress is adjusted for game speed, though it likely ought to be; or perhaps it should just be revisited outright to encourage using rune swords more.)

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Gwarl buffed Warrior-Mage significantly; they have better stats than priests, better melee than priests and better device use than priests. Out of those two I would still be inclined to pick priest, though, especially for this kind of build; both are "strong enough" in all of the above, so you might as well not be stuck with Arcane. You don't need to pick an offensive realm to support your melee, although of course you can if you want to

Monk is another classic class for this type of build.

[wobbly]

I'd also pick priest but you also might consider ranger which is almost a straight upgrade on a warrior-mage. Nature does pretty much everything arcane does, just better and has some reasonable buffs. Probably has the 2nd best util set in the game.

[Thraalbee]

Rune swords work fine in coffee break. You will tend to be clearing levels and letting summoners live when the situation allows

[CyclopsSlayer]

I had always thought that Rune Swords should somehow be special to Rune Knights...

[Atopian]

I'd also pick priest but you also might consider ranger which is almost a straight upgrade on a warrior-mage. Nature does pretty much everything arcane does, just better and has some reasonable buffs. Probably has the 2nd best util set in the game.

Seconding rangers here. Nature gives you basic healing and buffs, and lets you sculpt the dungeon to avoid problems with summoners etc.
I paid it with chaos because I like that realm, but given that rangers already have ranged damage covered, there are probably better choices.

[Seraphimus]

I'm curious what the rune sword actually does I don't think I've ever seen one, does it just gain bonuses as you kill with it? And why is it a mixed blessing? Would a swords weapon master so well with one?

also why don't rune knights start with one? :P

[Thraalbee]

Rune swords can gain anything (bonus, slay, brand .. ) including aggravation and TY_CURSE which you tend to avoid at any cost except on exceptional items like the one ring. Also rune sword progress is slow and they start at negative damage

[Thraalbee]

In a recent run (Instant Coffe) I had this before RIP. My Berserker did 828 hp normal damage with the rune sword while dual wielding.
a) Rune Sword (8d4) (+23,+21) [-27] {cursed, Ag|V}